e-ISSN (O): 2348-4470

Scientific Journal of Impact Factor (SJIF): 4.72

p-ISSN (P): 2348-6406

International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research

Development
Volume 4, Issue 2, February -2017

Environmental Assessment of Soil Erosion on Pavanje River Basin

Vijay Suryawanshi1 & Dr.Amai Mahesha2
1
Assistant Professor, KITS Warangal, Telangana State
2
Professor, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, India

Abstract: the present study has been conducted to analyze environmental impacts of soil erosion on groundwater
recharge in the Pavanje river basin, Dakshina Kannada district-Karnataka. Soil erosion is a universal and fundamental
problem that is strongly modified by land clearance, forestry, constructions, surface mining and urbanization. Land and
water are two most vital natural resources of the world and hence these resource must be conserved carefully to protect
environment to maintain ecological balance. Estimation of soil erosion and groundwater potential zones is one of the
pre-requisites for conservation and management of water resource an also for many hydraulic applications. The soil
erosion of the catchment area has been estimated in this study by using RUSLE model. The major factors of this model
are R is rainfall erosivity, K is soil erodibility, L is slope length, S is slope steepness, C is crop management factor and P
is practice management factor, which constitutes total soil erosion (A) is estimated by A= RKLSCP using RUSLE model.
The above factors has been considered in the soil erosion model and integrated to develop final soil erosion map of the
river basin, by using ArcGIS software. Delineation of various groundwater potential zones has been carried out for the
assessment of groundwater availability in the coastal part of Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka using remote
sensing and GIS technique. Satellite Data (LISS-3 image, 23.5m resolution of year 2009, RGB bands-3 2 1) and Digital
Elevation Model (ASTER DEM, 30 m resolution) data have been used in the present study to prepare various thematic
maps such as (geomorphology, geology, lithology, lineament density, LU/LC and slope map). On the basis of relative
contribution of each thematic maps towards groundwater potential, the weightage of each thematic maps has been
assigned by using weighted index overlay method (WIOM). Further within each thematic maps, ranking has been
assigned for each of the features. The final groundwater potential zone map is developed. RS and GIS techniques has
been helpful in identifying groundwater potential zones, the study area categorized in to five zones viz. (very poor, poor,
moderate, good and excellent).

Index Terms RS & GIS, Satellite data, Soil Erosion, RUSLE model, Groundwater potential zone and weighted index
overlay method.

1. Introduction

In India, it has been estimated that an area of over 80 million hectares or about one-fourth of our total area is exposed to
wind and water erosion, out of which, 40 million hectares of land has undergone serious erosion. Ironically, the extent of
soil erosion is increasing in spite of our efforts to check soil erosion. (Mohita) Experts have estimated that about 40,000
hectares of our land is permanently loss of irrigation land and much larger area is rendered less productive every year due
to wind and water erosion. Wind erosion is a serious problem in arid and semi-arid parts of north-west India. About 45
million hectares of land is subject to severe wind erosion in Rajasthan and adjoining areas of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat
and Western Uttar Pradesh.
India's total land area of 328 million hectare about 175 million hectare are in need of soil conservation measures. Since
1951, soil conservation measures were adopted on only 25, million which has a serious effect on agricultural production
on red soils, covering an area of 72, million hectare The most serious soil erosion problem is sheet and rill erosion. The
depth of these soils is about 200 mm. In most areas, the lateritic soils, associated with rolling or undulating topography,
also suffer from this form of erosion because they are located in the regions of relatively high rainfall. These soils are
estimated to lose annually about 40 ton/ha of valuable top soil, particularly in the absence of soil conservation measures.
The black soils, occupying nearly 64 M-ha, are usually utilized for crop production under rain fed conditions.
Surprisingly, these lands are normally cultivated and kept fallow during the intense rainy season, making them
susceptible to serious erosion.

2. Study Area
Pavanje river is also known as Nandini river the Pavanje river catchment is about 24km north of Mangalore city
covering Pavanje village adjoining haleyangadi .It lies between longitude of 74048'E and 7501'E and Latitude of 12058'N
and 1304'N .the total catchment area of the basin is about 202.31km2 . The location map of the study area has been
shown in fig (1), the river originates in the foothills of Western Ghats and flow westwards. The river takes 900 turn
towards north near coast and meets the Mulki River and flow almost parallel to the coast for a short distance and finally
joins the Arabian Sea. The total length of the 5th order stream is main river is about 38.8kms and the total length of the
all order stream in the basin is about 455km.The basin has a drainage density of 2.25km/km2. The average bed slope of
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 International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development (IJAERD)
Volume 4, Issue 2, February -2017, e-ISSN: 2348 - 4470, print-ISSN: 2348-6406

the basin is 1 in 260, the Pavanje river basin is a seasonal and tidal river which experience salt water intrusion during the
summer months up to several km upstream.

Figure 1. Location map of the study area

3. Data Used
Any groundwater development program needs a large volume of multidisciplinary data from various sources.
Integrated remote sensing and GIS can provide the appropriate platform for convergent analysis of diverse data sets for
decision making in groundwater management and planning

Figure 2. Data Used for estimation of Soil Erosion

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 International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development (IJAERD)
Volume 4, Issue 2, February -2017, e-ISSN: 2348 - 4470, print-ISSN: 2348-6406

4. Methodology

Figure 3. Flow Chart Shows the Methodology of entire work

RUSLE Model was developed to incorporate new research since the earlier USLE publication in 1978 (Wischmeier and
Smith, 1978). Agriculture Handbook 703 (Renard et al., 1997) is a guide to conservation planning with the RUSLE as
per the following equation.
A = R*K*LS*CP (1)
A: average annual potential soil loss (Tons/hectare/year),
R: rainfall-runoff erosivity factor,
K: soil erodibility factor,
LS: slope length and degree factor,
C: land-cover management factor,
P: conservation practice factor

Rainfall erosivity factor (R): Erosivity factor is determined by both rainfall and the energy imparted to the land surface
by the rain drop impact.
Soil erodibility factor (K): K is expressed as soil loss per unit of area for unit plot. USDA (1978) suggested a
nomograph for determining soil erodibility, using particle size, organic matter, and permeability class.
Slope length (L): and Steepness (S) factor: Slope length factor is the ratio of soil loss from field slope length to that
from 22.13 m length plot under identical conditions. The slope steepness factor is the ratio of soil loss from the field
slope gradient to that from 9 % slope under otherwise identical conditions.
Cover and management factor (C): The crop management factor is the expected ratio of soil loss from land cropped
under specified conditions to soil loss from clean, tilled fallow or identical soil and slope and under the same rainfall.
Support practice factor (P): The P factor is expressed as a ratio, which compares the soil loss from investigated plot
cultivated up and down the slope. P ranges from 1.0 for up and down cultivation to 0.25 for contour strip cropping of
gentle slope.

5. Result and Modelling

Development of Soil Erosion Factors
1) Rainfall-runoff (rainfall erosivity) r- factor
In this study, GIS plays a major role in preparing thematic layers and estimating soil erosion. The rainfall data of 11
years (2001-2012), collected from the Central Water Commission, Mangalore was used to estimate the mean annual
rainfall and to prepare R factor.
The rainfall erosivity R factor map can be developed by using Kurt-Coopers equation. The developed map is shown in
fig.
=1.241.36 (2)

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 International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development (IJAERD)
Volume 4, Issue 2, February -2017, e-ISSN: 2348 - 4470, print-ISSN: 2348-6406

Figure 4. Runoff Erosivity map

2) Soil Erodibility K- Factor

K is the inherent property of a soil that plays major role in the ability of water to detach and transport its particles. Some
of the major soil properties that affect soil erosion and based on which erodibility is estimated include soil texture, soil
organic matter, soil structure and basic permeability of the soil profile (Wischmeier et al. 1971; Renard et al. 1997.

Figure 4. K- Factor Map

3) Topographic factor (LS)

The overall topography contributes two factors to soil erosion in the RUSLE, namely the length factor (L) and the
steepness factor (S) (Griffin et al. 1988; Renard et al. 1997). The LS factor is calculated by multiplying the L and S
factors together (Moore and Burch 1986; Desmet and Govers 1996). The LS factor map have been prepared from the
slope and aspect map derived from the DEM, the contour data were extracted from existing topography map (1: 50,000).

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 International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development (IJAERD)
Volume 4, Issue 2, February -2017, e-ISSN: 2348 - 4470, print-ISSN: 2348-6406

Figure 5. LS Factor Map

4) Crop management C- factor

The C factor is used to reflect the effect of cropping and management practices on soil erosion rates in agricultural lands
and the effects of vegetation canopy and ground covers on reducing the soil erosion in forested regions (Renard et al.
1997), which varies season and crop production system. The traditional method for spatial with estimation of C factor is
assigning values to land cover classes using classified remotely sensed images of study areas.

Figure 6. C Factor map

5) Conservation Practice P- Factor

The P factor is the ratio of soil loss with a specific support practice to the corresponding loss with upslope and down
slope tillage (Van der Knijff et al. 2000).The lower the P value, the more effective the conservation practice is deemed to
be at reducing soil erosion. Values were obtained from tables of the ratio of soil loss where contouring and contour strip
cropping were practiced to that where there were not conservation measures, the value of P factor was 1.0, so P-factor
map was prepared from land use/cover map.

6) Preparation of soil erosion map (RKLSCP)

All the factor map of R, K, LS and CP were integrated to generate a composite map of soil erosion.LS factor map has
been generated from slope steepness & aspect map derived from the DEM. The K factor map has been derived from the
detailed reconnaissance soil map and assigned values according to the soil textures. The R factor map developed from the
rainfall data obtained from the each rain gauge stations. The rainfall data imported in to the ArcGIS software as a point
map and using interpolation (kriging) tool developed the rainfall distribution map of the basin by using extract by mask
generated R factor map of study area. The cropping management C and practice management P factor maps were
developed from land use / land cover map which is derived from Erdas Imagine software 2014. In this study the P factor
value taken as 1.0.Maps covering the parameter (RKLSCP). Using the raster calculator tool in ArcGIS software all the
maps were multiplied to get the RKLSCP map. Which shows the distributed soil erosion map (showing pixel wise soil
erosion of the study area .The soil erosion map were developed for average annual rainfall.

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 International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development (IJAERD)
Volume 4, Issue 2, February -2017, e-ISSN: 2348 - 4470, print-ISSN: 2348-6406

Figure7. Soil Erosion Map of Pavanje River Basin

The estimation of soil erosion obtained from the RUSLE model shows an average loss of watershed .the rainfall runoff
obtained from Kurt Coopers equation based on the average annual rainfall 3806.90mm/year. K factor map developed
from the NBSS got five classification of soil. The L and S factors are combined into single topographical factor LS map
in degrees. The c factor for different classes like Berrien land, forest, buildup area, Agricultural land and water generated
from Erdas Imagine software. P factor values taken as 1.0

6. Conclusion
The present study on soil erosion estimation for Pavanje river basin is well suited for agricultural and forest land soil
erosion modeling in the basin. Developed RUSLE model can be used in predicting possible impacts of alternative LU/LC
changes. Soil erosion prediction by models has been based on the quality data requirements to overcome the general
limitations of the developing nations in soil conservation research and planning efforts. Empirical soil erosion models,
though relatively simple, are easy to interpret physically, require minimal resources and can be worked out with readily
available input values to pinpoint the areas exposed to high erosion risk. From the study, the following conclusions can
be drawn

The average annual soil loss for the study area estimated from the RUSLE model is about 4468.89 tons/hectare/year.

The RUSLE model is well suited for the estimation of soil erosion, it requires a several dimensionless coefficient in
order to estimate the soil erosion.

The RUSLE model calculation applied on resultant polygon layer gives the good result for average annual soil loss
over longer period of time.

By analyzing the impact of increase in agricultural area on soil erosion, it can be concluded that, as the agricultural
area increases soil erosion also increases.

7. References

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[2] Andersson, L (2010) Soil Loss Estimation Based on the USLE/GIS Approach Through Small Catchments - A Minor
Field Study in Tunisia, TVVR 10/5019, Division of Water Resources Engineering, Department of Building and
Environmental Technology, Lund University.

[3] BN Malleswara Rao, Dr. NV Uma Mahesh and Dr.G.Thimma Reddy (2005) GIS Based soil erosion for conservation
planning of watersheds Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol 11-3.
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 International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development (IJAERD)
Volume 4, Issue 2, February -2017, e-ISSN: 2348 - 4470, print-ISSN: 2348-6406

[4] Chandramohan T., Jose M.K., Purandara B.K. (2014) Estimation of soil erosion using modified universal soil loss
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